Clicking through the sea of kid-friendly virtual worlds/online multiplayers marveling at moderation innovations. What will this market look like a couple years hence?
Will players lose interest and move on to bigger/edgier titles looking back on these games with nostalgia once reserved for Legos and fingerpaint?
Can game developers cut a path to keep them loyal? A Hotel California they never actually leave but grow old within, like our experience with Facebook?
Option A: mature the game. "Patches" unlock player autonomy...
For a microtransaction example
1. parent-designated monthly account reloads (PuzzlePirates Crimson ocean)
2. players earn it through semi-moderated offer platforms, out of game XP (Chorewars)
3. currency reload prepaid cards/prepaid credit cards/dev contests, beta testing, etc (Offerpal)
4. currency reload through personal credit/debit/mobile phone accounts
Option B: create a brand path. As players show signs of outgrowing one game, subtly roll them into a more mature one... with rebellious tweens, this may mean creating a series of brands so disjointed you'd need to look into corporate financials to realize they are the same company.
0 comments:
Post a Comment